


Rabbits vs Funk

by hydrangeamaiden



Series: Beta Stories [1]
Category: Obsolete Dream
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-12
Updated: 2014-09-12
Packaged: 2018-02-17 02:48:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2294129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hydrangeamaiden/pseuds/hydrangeamaiden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The week before Olivia became Kurotsuno.</p><p>Thanks to my friend for coming up with the title.  Most headcanons/theories presented in this fanfic are obsolete as this was meant to be a brainstorming fanfic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rabbits vs Funk

Olivia rolled over in bed, buried her face in her book, even clung to a nearby pillow, but it was useless. She couldn’t focus like this. On the lower bunk of the bed, the chattering of her three other roommates passed through her ears like a fire alarm.

“…So she ran crying to one of the teachers and…”

“…Ohh, I heard about that. I actually heard that…”

“…Nah, you know how she loves to exaggerate…”

After throwing her book aside, Olivia sat up, swung her legs over the side of the bed, and inched her way down the ladder. Someone bumped into it when she was halfway down. Someone else laughed. She didn’t bother to make eye contact with any of them, opting to keep her head down as she walked past them. Their talking became giggly whispering as she grabbed her hoodie off the coatrack and shoved it over her head. Only when Olivia was in the hallway did she feel a weight leave her chest.

The first thing she did was check the pockets. Her hand brushed against something smooth, and she sighed with relief. She took her cellphone out of her pocket and the light from its screen lit up with the time: 7pm. As she strolled through the hallway, she heard other muffled voices drift from behind closed doors.

Olivia passed through a door in the middle of the hallway and went for the stairs leading up to the top of the building. If only curfew was later than 10pm, she would be able to see the full moon that was due to show itself within by next week. It wasn’t so bad coming up here at sunset, though. The young girl ran along the roof, stopping to rest against the chain link fence.

Someone would probably find her here in a few hours and tell her to go to bed, but for now, she closed her eyes and listened to the traffic jam below. Her mind wandered, and she was just about to drift off when she heard clanging metal. Olivia’s eyes snapped open, and she immediately curled in on herself. Lifting her head, she saw someone with shock-white hair standing on one of the metal benches nearby. Olivia’s eyes widened at the sight of the girl’s wings, tail, and horns.

“Ah…” Olivia put her phone in her pocket. At this small noise and subtle movement, the demon looked over her shoulder and met Olivia’s gaze. They stared at each other in silence, until Olivia lowered her eyes.

“Not gonna run or scream?” the demon asked. Olivia shook her head.

“Why aren’t you hiding your horns?” Olivia mumbled. The demon put a hand behind her ear and gave an exaggerated smile. Olivia’s voice wavered as she repeated, “Wh-why aren’t you hiding your horns?”

“Why should I? And that’s really none of your business, when you don’t have any horns to hide. But, ah…” The demon squinted at Olivia in the fading daylight. “Maybe it’s only half of your business.”

Olivia closed her eyes. “But it’s…”

…Dangerous for demons to show their true forms when they’re in the human world, is what Olivia wanted to say, but that was preaching to the choir. The choir with sharp teeth and pointy claws. You could never be too careful around unfamiliar demons.

“…still light out,” Olivia finished. Wow, really? Was that the best she could come up with?

Olivia heard the demon hop down from the bench and say, “You’re a weird one. See ya.”

When Olivia opened her eyes again, the girl was gone. She immediately groaned and put her reddening face in her hands.

\--

The next morning, Olivia sat hunched over her desk, trying one more time to pay attention to her book before finally giving up and shoving it into her desk. She couldn’t focus anymore: what should have been visualizations of the story were thoughts of the demon she met last night instead. Olivia felt her insides burn—she probably looked like an idiot to that girl. 

The clamoring of the other students in the room, however, was enough to distract her. It was like this in the hallways and in the dorms, too, but Olivia was still in the dark. As she wondered what had happened, the teacher’s voice rang out over the din.

“Everyone, settle down! Sit down!”

The commotion died down, but only a little bit, as the other students rushed back to their seats. Olivia put her chin in her hand and looked out the window. Once the teacher reached her podium at the front of the class, hands shot into the air. However, not everyone was patient.

“Is it true that one of the rabbits was killed?!” one student blurted out.

“What happened to the rabbit hutch?”

“Hey, do you know what—“

That had Olivia’s attention. The class pets were on the balcony behind the school, where the greenhouse was. Only someone with a key could enter the hutch. Olivia knew that someone could just as easily kick in the door or pick the lock, but she couldn’t think of a reason for anyone to do that. She listened in stunned silence as the teacher spoke.

“Be quiet,” the teacher said. “I’ll wait.”

With those last two words, the class settled into grudging silence. The teacher the book she was holding on top of the podium and continued to speak.

“It’s true: this morning, the body of one of our rabbits was found in the hutch. The door didn’t show any signs of damage, but we’ve switched to a combination lock that will change each week, so whoever’s on rabbit duty this week will be getting a different combination than next week’s.”

The teacher flipped through the book. “Olivia, you’re on rabbit duty this week, so come see me after class. Now, everyone take out your math books and I’ll pass around the attendance sheet…”

Olivia reached into her desk, aware of the hushed whispers and the eyes that wouldn’t leave her.

After class, Olivia had only just finished getting instructions from the teacher when she was accosted in the middle of the hallway. A girl grabbed the sleeve of her blazer after she was out the door and dragged her off to the side. Olivia let out a yelp.

“You heard what the teacher said, didn’t you?” said the girl who had grabbed her. Olivia said nothing.

“Whoever killed the rabbit is still probably loose. I mean, it’s not like they caught anyone, did they?” asked another student.

“No, they didn’t, so we have a favor to ask,” said yet another. “We need you to stay at the hutch for an extra hour to spy. If you hang out around there you might catch whoever did it.”

Olivia stared through them with tensed up shoulders.

“Are you listening?” said the first student. “If you let anything happen to the rabbits, you’re dead.”

Olivia remained silent, but gave a short nod.

“Good. We’re counting on you, okay?” said the third student.

“…Okay,” Olivia said. As the students walked away, she felt that weight return to her chest again. It stayed with her as she lugged her backpack down the halls, up the stairs, and out to the balcony.

This was the only part of the school that was truly quiet. Once she got past the muggy greenhouse and surrounding garden, she was overlooking the city and even a glimpse of the sea. The rabbit hutch was in a small shed close to the dorms, which could be reached by a bridge on the lower floors. From here, she could see the new lock that had been placed on the door, but it was okay: she knew how to get in already. Olivia took a deep breath. The air was cool and fresh here.

In the rabbit hutch, it didn’t smell as nice—whoever was on rabbit duty last week must have been slacking. Olivia put her backpack down on the chair by the door, grabbed a broom, and set to work.

In truth, being on rabbit duty wasn’t so bad. Olivia made quick work of the grime collected on the floor, and continued on to clean out the cages. Feeding them and changing their water was her favorite part, because it meant she got to pet every rabbit. Every single one. By the time she left the rabbit hutch, she found herself wishing she could just stay in there.

With a sigh, Olivia crouched in the bushes surrounding the hutch and stared ahead at the path. Minutes ticked by with no one showing up, and soon she was digging through her backpack, shoving aside homework and books until she found her cellphone. While she was here, she might as well busy herself with a game…

\--

The week crawled by. Tuesday was uneventful, as Olivia sat through class twirling her hair and drawing all over her notes. Her classmates reminded her once again to stay a few extra hours at the rabbit hutch, just to keep an eye out. Olivia ended up spending most of the afternoon there, if only to be alone. She didn’t see the demon or any dead rabbits, though her classmates continually pestered her throughout the day to not slack off.

Wednesday was a cool and cloudless day. Olivia, being accustomed to a perpetually dark sky back in the Pitch World, rushed to the balcony as soon as class was out to see the sky. The air smelled salty from the breeze blowing in from the sea. Olivia’s thoughts melted away in the sunlight and she looked out into the horizon.

She closed her eyes and breathed in through her nose. The scent of the sea mixed in with something more coppery, and Olivia was brought back to reality. Leaving the edge of the balcony, she wandered through the garden and towards the rabbit hutch.

The door was already open.

Olivia quickened her pace and practically burst through the bushes, not bothering to go around them. The undeniable stench of blood hit her, and when she looked in through the door, she froze.

Almost all of the rabbits were on the bloodied floor, in a state that caused Olivia to avert her eyes. The remaining rabbits were cowering in their cages, petrified with fear at the sight of the demon standing on the floor, holding part of a rabbit in her hand. Olivia had only seen her once before, but recognized her right away.

“…I knew it was you.” The words left Olivia’s mouth without her realizing it. The demon turned around and wiped the blood off her mouth.

“Wow, this is the second time we’ve run into each other,” said the demon, tossing aside the rabbit in her hand. “What was your name, again?”

“Wha--?! You never asked me my name!”

Only then did Olivia notice the other girl standing behind the demon, wearing a helmet that obscured her face and holding a crowbar over her shoulder. There was a bloody patch on the front of her shirt, but she gave no indication of being in pain.

“You just followed me in here, though. It’s not like I asked to have a conversation with you.”

“So mean! You stand out so much so I couldn’t help myself, y’know?”

Olivia looked anywhere that wasn’t the floor. Her eyes came to a rest on the demon, who gave her a small smile. Olivia paled.

“I’m full, so I’ll leave you alone,” the demon said, nudging her to the side on the way out the door. “See you, half human.”

“Ahh, wait for me!” the helmeted girl cried, giving chase. It was after the two of them disappeared behind the bushes that Olivia took a few steps away from the shed and broke into a run after them. Their voices led her to the edge of the balcony, and then disappeared. She leaned over the edge and looked down at the crowded streets below, but they were nowhere to be seen.

She backed away with the smells and sights of blood still fresh in her mind. After what felt like an hour of swaying on the pavement, one thought entered her mind.  
I have to tell somebody.

In a trance, Olivia ran back through the balcony doors and down the hall, still teeming with students leaving their classrooms. Her feet took her down the stairs and around a corner back to her own classroom. She burst through the door, panting and trying to spot the teacher who was no longer in the room. She could feel the other students staring at her.

“The…the rabbits were…!” Olivia exploded. “There was…!”

The others in the room seemed to loom above her as she stammered out her words. Their eyes bore into her.

“What? What happened?” one of them asked.

“There was a demon!” Olivia cried. “She was this demon with white hair and horns and a red shirt, she killed the rabbits and I tried to stop her but…!”

Olivia was lying; she hadn’t done anything to stop that girl. She had just stood there, watching the scene unfold as if it was just a video playing on her cellphone.

“A demon?”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“What is she even—”

A distant scream ran in Olivia’s ears, but the murmuring around her was much, much worse.

“What demon? She’s just making this up.”

“You’re a liar, Olivia.”

Olivia shook her head. “No, no…”

“You made it up…”

“You did this…”

Look at yourself; you tracked blood all the way in here.

“I bet you’re just making it up to make it look like you didn’t do it.”

“You couldn’t have thought of a better story?”

“Ah…ahh…” Olivia backed away, out of the classroom. “No, I’m not lying.”

“You’re a freak.”

At this, Olivia squeezed her eyes shut, but she couldn’t shut out the staring or their judgmental voices. She put her hands—all pins and needles—over her face to hide her eyes. Behind her closed eyelids, shapes began to form in swirling shapes and patterns. Everything in her told her to run away, but—

\--  
In any other world, 4pm would have meant broad daylight. However, the view from the window was that of a black sky with the faint outline of a forest on the horizon. There were curtains here once, but they fell into disuse and were eventually taken down. Even with the lamps in the room, any bit of moonlight was welcome. Sullivan wouldn’t have minded a bit of extra light as he busied himself with the papers stacked on his desk. Outside his office, the hallway was abuzz, and closing the door only muffled the sound.  
Sullivan set down his pen so he could stretch out his wrists. He then opened the desk drawer and rummaged around, searching for something to dull the headache he felt coming on. He’d be working overtime again for sure. 

Once he’d swallowed a few painkillers, he returned to his work. He looked over an application, twirled his pen in his hand, and checked the “accepted” box before moving on to the next one. This one lacked the proper medical files, and Sullivan checked the “denied” box immediately. They’d be out of the loop for a while before being able to apply for a passport again, and by that time the event coming up would have come and passed. Sullivan was astounded at the amount of demons suddenly interested in visiting this world now that its devil was hosting a party here. It was usually just witches out on business, which kept him busy enough.

Some time had passed before Sullivan heard a knock on the door. He looked up from his work and called out, “Yes, come in.”

The door creaked open, and a young man with dark hair and shades stepped inside with a phone in his hand. He was covering the receiver with the other.

Sullivan set down his pen and rubbed his eyes. “Ah, Glasses. I didn’t lose track of time again, did I?”

“You have a long-distance call from the school, sir,” Glasses said. He walked over to hand the phone off to Sullivan.

“Huh.” Sullivan held the phone up to his ear. “Hello? Yes…yes...”

He frowned. “She did what?...Yes, in a few hours. Very well. Thank you.”

Sullivan handed the phone back to Glasses and stood up. “I’m going out for a while. Cover for me until I get back.”

“Right now?” Glasses asked as he watched the other man straighten his jacket and head for the door.

“Yes. It’s urgent.” Sullivan let out a true and tired sigh. He had just taken those painkillers, but he could already feel them wearing off.

“That doesn’t sound good. Have a safe trip,” Glasses said, waving as Sullivan left the room.

\--

It had been a while since Olivia was surrounded by this much quiet. Far away in the mountains, away from the city, the only sound was the whistling of a train passing through a station. Not many were here—only a few demons moving around the platform. Olivia didn’t pay much attention to them, and instead leaned against the suitcase next to her on the bench.

She looked down at her clammy, shaking hands. For a moment, the sweat became beads of red on her palms, and Olivia buried her face in her scarf. She reemerged after a minute, and her hands were back to normal again. She curled and uncurled her fingers, only looking up when she heard footsteps and her father’s voice.

“Here,” Sullivan said, handing her a train ticket. “Hold onto it, okay?”

He sat down on the bench, and the two waited in silence. A train slowed on the platform, accompanied by a low, rumbling voice over the loudspeaker.

“Flame World…train 4, bound for the Flame World…”

Olivia and Sullivan remained seated as a few demons hurried into the train, and it took off through a tunnel and out of sight. Olivia stared ahead, watching it leave. She looked down at the ticket in her hand, noting that the time printed on it wasn’t too far off. She closed her eyes and listened to the distant echoes of footsteps and hushed conversation. She heard Sullivan fidget and sigh.

“All this over a few rabbits,” he said to her in a light tone. “Next thing you know—ah.”

Another train rolled into the station, with the announcer confirming it to lead to their world. Olivia opened her eyes and rose from the bench, taking her suitcase and dragging it along behind her as she and Sullivan walked across the platform.

“Next thing you know they’ll be making it rain and thunder,” Sullivan said as they approached the train. The doors slid open, and they walked into an empty passenger car. “Excellent, we have all of the seats to ourselves.”

Olivia sank into the seat nearest to the door, feeling herself deflate as soon as she relaxed into the plush seating. Sullivan took her suitcase—it must not have been too heavy for him—and heaved it onto the luggage rack above before taking a seat beside her. The train lurched, and sped off down the tunnel. Lights danced past the windows as if putting on a show for the train’s only passengers. Every now and then the train would lurch again and Olivia would bounce in her seat, these disruptions become less and less frequent as time passed.

“Well, I couldn’t actually say that back home,” Sullivan was saying. “They’d rip my horns off for mockery. I never understood that, really.”

Olivia put her hands into the pockets of her hoodie, feeling for her cellphone and exhaling in relief when the tips of her fingers brushed against it.

Sullivan glanced over at her, face etched with concern. “All that over some rabbits…It’s been a while since you’ve lashed out like that. Are you sure you don’t want to tell me what happened?”

Olivia removed her hands from her pocket. They were still shaking. Her vision went blurry as tears pricked her eyes.

“But, I…I…” Olivia’s face scrunched up and she looked down into her scarf. “E-even if did, I…I c-can’t even go back anymore, Papa…I’m…”

Sullivan put an arm around her as she continued to choke on her own tears. “Wh-why am I…”

“Shh, it’s not your fault,” he reassured her. The lights flickering in the windows were growing fewer and fewer, until the windows were pitch black. The announcer’s voice crackled from the speakers on the ceiling.

“Pitch World…now arriving at the Pitch World…”

When the train slowed to a stop, they stepped out onto a darkened platform with lanterns bobbing against the ceiling. Olivia brought her scarf up over her nose and mouth to hide her tear-streaked cheeks as she passed by various demons and witches, though it was too dark for anyone to notice. She lost count of the number of times she almost bumped into people or almost got separated from Sullivan before they left the train station. Her eyes adjusted to the familiar darkness of the Pitch World, but as usual, she never felt like she was truly home.

\--

Olivia was startled from her restless sleep by the sound of someone knocking on her door. Her eyes wandered the room, lit by a small lamp on the dresser she forgot to turn off last night. She shifted under the covers and let out a soft groan. Did she sleep in again? Class couldn’t have started yet; it was still dark out. She closed her eyes again, but the incessant knocking kept her from drifting off.

Olivia sat up, pushing aside the curtains around her bed and stumbling onto the soft carpet. She yawned and trudged over to the bedroom door, too tired to tell whoever was outside to stop.

The second she opened the door, the knocking stopped, and she was treated to the sight of an empty hallway. The embroidered carpet and dim lanterns lining the walls were too fancy for the school dormitories. This was her house.

Olivia looked down either end of the hallway, but she was the only one around.

“Ah.” She made a small noise of frustration and rubbed her eyes. There was no point in going back to sleep now that she was out of bed. After shutting the door behind her, she continued on down the hallway to the stairs. The scent of coffee wafted up from downstairs, and Olivia followed it throughout the house until she reached the kitchen, the only room with a light on. There, she saw Sullivan pouring coffee into a thermos while his subordinate, Glasses, sat at the table scarfing down an omelet.

“Hey, kid,” Glasses greeted her with his mouth full.

“Olivia? You’re up this early?” Sullivan asked as he screwed on the thermos lid. Olivia rubbed her eyes and yawned again.

“Uhuh…what were you knocking on my door for…?” she mumbled.

“…I wasn’t,” Sullivan said with a small frown. “It’s only 6am, why would I—ah! We’re going to be late!”

“Aw sh—“ Glasses hurriedly stuffed the rest of his food in his mouth as Sullivan grabbed a briefcase that was sitting on the counter.

“Sorry, we’ll be back around eight tonight!” Sullivan called out to her as he and Glasses hurried out through the door on the other side of the room. “Just take it easy today, okay?”  
Only when Olivia heard the front door slam shut in the distance did she move from her spot by the door to retrieve a mug from the cupboard. She checked the coffee pot Sullivan had left on the counter—there was still some left. 

She poured out the remains into her own mug, took a sip, and immediately spat it into the sink.

“Ugh…where’s the sugar…?” Olivia groused as she searched the cabinets. She was sure it was in the one closest to the fridge, but it was gone. “We can’t be out…”  
With shoulders slumping in defeat, she settled for retrieving the milk and cream from the fridge and stirring it into the coffee. It was still bitter as sin, and she shuddered every time she took a drink, but it warmed her right up. After she’d had enough of it, she emptied the rest of the mug’s contents into the sink and left the kitchen. It was still early, and she was still tired. She might as well go back to bed.

“Olivia!”

Olivia whirled around and almost fell down the stairs at the sound of the voice calling out to her. It came and disappeared suddenly, leaving her holding onto the handrail in confused silence.

“Papa, didn’t you go to work already?” she croaked out, voice still heavy with sleep. She received no reply, and felt a blush creep into her cheeks. “…I was just hearing things.”  
She hurried back up to her room and into bed, where she threw the covers over herself and nestled into the pillows. The lights flicked out just as she was closing her eyes, enfolding her in a comforting darkness. It wasn’t long before she started to drift off.

She woke up many times after that to sounds she couldn’t quite place: snapping sounds, the crinkling of plastic, a few thumps here and there. When the clock on Olivia’s nightstand read 10:30 in the morning, she finally felt awake enough to get out of bed and get changed. She frowned at the lamp on the dresser and flicked the switch a few times. The light bulb must have lost power while she was asleep.

Now fully dressed, she went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and hair. That was when she heard rustling behind the shower curtains. She slowly set down her toothbrush, inched towards the sound, and drew the curtains back. There was nothing in there.

When she returned to the mirror, she thought she saw something behind her reflection, but only for a split second. She rubbed her eyes and grumbled.  
Downstairs, she flopped onto the couch with her cell phone and landed on something hard. Moving aside revealed it to be a book. That really should have been in the study, or at least on the coffee table. Olivia tucked it under her arm and left the living room to put the book back.

In the study, just as she was slipping the book back onto one of the shelves, she heard a soft “hey” in her ear and gave a start. Still shaking, she looked left and right around the study, empty except for her. That was when she noticed something on the floor, and looked down at a series of words written in red:

K E E P T H E L I G H T S O N

Olivia’s eyes widened. There was a lamp on, but was that enough? Her eyes adjusted so easily to the dark that she could walk through the house in pitch blackness, as evidence by the hallway she left unlit on the way here. She stepped around the writing and turned on the lamps on the desk before returning to the writing. She knelt down and brushed her fingertips lightly along the floor, and looked at the chalky residue left behind. 

Olivia used her boots to scuff out the rest of the writing, before looking back down the hall. The situation was becoming increasingly unpleasant, but she couldn’t just stay in here forever. Olivia steeled her nerves and ran down the hall.

For the next few minutes, loud thudding would echo throughout the house, stopping when Olivia skidded into the living room and flicked on the light switch. Only when the room was bathed in light did she feel safe, but despite that she couldn’t stop shaking. She parked herself on the couch with her phone, but after about ten minutes she got up again and headed for the front door. She stopped only to retrieve her scarf from the hat rack before stepping outside into the chilly autumn air, which felt unusually heavy with magic energy today.

It was just as cold and dark out in the Pitch World as Olivia remembered. Crows—horrible things—cawed from the treetops as she strolled down the cobblestone road, over the bridge and into town. The buildings here were all dark stone and plainly shaped, but with embellishments on the windows and doors. A castle tangled in huge spiraling branches loomed on the horizon, against a background of glittering stars in a sky perpetually in night.

Olivia walked through the streets with her head down and her hood up, taking care not to bump into any of the demons or witches bustling through the streets. She took a side road and walked without pause, searching out a particular bar out of the way of the main street. She let out a sigh of relief when the familiar building came into sight. The jingling of bells that sounded when she walked in and the voice that greeted her was enough to make her anxieties from earlier melt away.

“Miss Olivia, it’s certainly been a while.” The white-haired man at the counter turned around, calling to her as he wiped down a flute glass. The bar was unusually crowded today, so the bartender’s voice barely reached Olivia’s ears. She made her way up to the counter and took a seat.

“Hi, Maekami…” Olivia said, casting her eyes down on her lap. As she unwound her scarf from around her neck, Maekami muttered a quick apology and went over to collect the bill from a group of witches who had just finished their drinks. He returned soon with a menu, which he handed off to Olivia. She immediately held up her hands, but to refuse it.

“Ah, I didn’t bring my...wallet…” she admitted, looking down.

“It’s on the house today,” Maekami said in a low voice, still holding out the menu. Olivia hesitated, but soon took it from him and started flipping through it.

“Hmmm…” She made a small humming sound as she swung her legs. “Um, can I have the cinnamon hot chocolate, and…uh, the corned beef?”

“Coming right up. And for you, miss?” Maekami asked, turning his head to the side.

“I’ll have the same drink she’s having, thanks!”

That voice was somewhat familiar. Olivia pushed the menu away and turned to the seat next to her to see the helmeted girl from the rabbit hutch. The only differences Olivia noted were her clean clothes and the lack of crowbar. Her eyes widened.

“You…!” she growled.

“Yes, me,” the helmeted girl replied, gesturing to herself. Olivia clenched her teeth and dug her fingernails into the counter.

“You’re the one who…”

And then: “Don’t start anything in the bar, now.”

Both girls turned to look at Maekami, who was standing with his hands folded neatly over his apron. Though his face was covered with that piece of paper, they could sense a stern kind of intensity coming from beneath. After a few moments, he left their spot on the counter and went off to some other thing, Olivia didn’t care.

“Hey, I didn’t do anything,” said the helmeted girl to Olivia. “Except play around with you a little. Sure is a coincidence you live in that big ol’ house out there.”

Olivia remembered the reason she had come out here in the first place, and her expression went deadpan. “Maybe I should just exorcise you right now for doing all of this to me.”

“Whaa? But I’ve only haunted you once,” the other protested. “I didn’t do anything else.”

“Liar. You and that demon killed all of the rabbits and got me in trouble for it.” ‘Got in trouble’ was putting it lightly, but Olivia didn’t feel the need to explain herself. 

“I didn’t kill any rabbits,” the girl corrected.

“Then what did you…?” Olivia asked.

“...You wanna hear about it?” the other said, and Olivia could practically hear her grin. She blanched.

“N-no thanks.” Olivia folded her arms across the countertop.

“By the way, my name’s not ‘you’, it’s Met,” said Met. Olivia stared at her for a few moments before the realization set in. Met. Helmet.

“Oh my god,” Olivia whispered, and put her head down on the table.

“I’m the host of Underworld Broadcasting Bloody Radio. Do you listen to it?” Met asked, voice dripping with anticipation. Olivia shook her head.

“I don’t listen to the radio. Especially not when I was in school,” she replied.

“That won’t do! You gotta listen to it. We have music and live interviews and everything. You gotta have a radio in your house, right? So, Olivia—“

Olivia frowned. “How do you know my name?”

“That other guy in your house called you that, right? So that’s your name, right? Right?” Met asked. At that moment, Maekami briefly returned with the drinks they had ordered, along with spoons. Conversation paused long enough for Olivia to take her spoon and mix the whipped cream on top into the drink.

As soon as Maekami left, Olivia’s frown deepened. “That ‘other guy’ was my dad. Just how long have you been following me around for, anyway?”

“Ahhh…a while? I got kinda bored and lost track of time messing with you,” Met said with a shrug. “Hey, what’s with that face?”

Olivia was wearing an expression of disbelief and maybe frustration—she couldn’t see her own face at the moment so she didn’t know what was with her face. She only knew that if she hadn’t ordered anything she’d be putting as much distance between herself and Met as possible.

“Weren’t you in the human world? Go back and bother that girl you were with instead of me,” Olivia pleaded.

“Can’t. We got separated and I couldn’t find her, so I came back here,” Met said, with a noticeable lack of pep in her voice this time. She fiddled with her helmet and pulled it off, revealing the rest of her messy auburn hair and a pair of bright red eyes. She brought the mug in front of her to her lips and sputtered when whipped cream got on her nose.

“Oh, okay…” Olivia returned to her own drink. “…Then is she still out there?”

“I guess so. I didn’t see her on the way back,” Met mused. “Ahhh, really wanna find her again.”

“Er, from what I saw—“ Olivia jumped a little when a plate with a sandwich on it was set in front of her.

“Sorry for the wait,” said Maekami.

“Th-thanks.” When Maekami had left again, Olivia continued to speak. “From what I saw, you guys didn’t look particularly close…I mean, sorry, you looked more like acquaintances, so like…"

“You think so? I feel like there’s something drawing me to her,” Met gushed. “I wish she’d focus some of that intensity towards me.”

Olivia thought she had an idea of what Met meant by ‘intensity’, and hoped for her sake that didn’t mean what Olivia thought she meant. Instead of vocalizing this, she turned her attention to her sandwich. She found herself listening to Met talk to her as she ate, occasionally interjecting with her own comments. When Olivia had finished her meal and Met had paid for her own drink, the two left the bar together and walked out into the streets.

“By the way, what were you doing in the human world?” Met asked.

“That’s where I went to school,” Olivia answered, mumbling into her scarf.

“Uh, but you live here?” Met tilted her head. “Even though you’re human? But your eyes are red? Huh?”

In response to Met’s verbal prodding, Olivia lowered her eyes and retreated further into her scarf. “I don’t know.”

“Oh, but she called you ‘half-human’, so are you half-and-half? A half-baked demon?” Met asked, clapping her hands together.

“I don’t know…”

“Whaaat? How could you not know?”

Olivia grimaced. “Could we stop talking about this?”

“Ahh, sorry, sorry,” Met said, finally backing off. No more conversation was to be had until they were on the path leading out of town. Forest surrounded them on either side, along with the cawing of crows and howls of something less recognizable.

“Looks like we wandered out of town, huh?” Met said, looking around.

“I was just following you,” Olivia replied. “And this leads back to my house, anyway…You’re not gonna go back there, are you?”

“Nah.” Met shook her head. “I was gonna go back to the human world and look for that girl. I didn’t even get her name…”

Met skipped on ahead, humming in tune to her steps. Olivia slowed down and stopped as the ghost left her on the path. She, too, knew so little about the demon who managed to displace her from one world, no matter how indirectly she had done it. She got the feeling that after this, she may never see her—or maybe even Met—again.

“Wait!”

Met turned around and saw Olivia rushing to catch up with the tails of her scarf flying out behind her. She stopped mid-skip and hovered above the ground in a relaxed pose.

“Huh?”

“C-can I come with you?” Olivia gasped, stopping in front of Met to catch her breath. Met lowered to the ground and reached under her helmet to scratch at her hair.

“Wow, big turn-around for someone who wanted me to leave them alone,” Met observed. “Are you saying you want to meet her, too? I’m not going to have competition, am I?”

And then she let out a cackling sort of laugh. Olivia shook her head and balled her fists in the fabric of her skirt.

“No. I just…want to tie up some loose ends,” Olivia explained. She didn’t hold any special affection towards the ghost or the demon, no matter how hard she searched her emotions for it. She could only find the desire for closure, the answers to the only questions she had now. “That’s all.”

“Mmmm…” Met put a hand to her chin in exaggerated contemplation. “Okay! You might be useful.”

“Useful how so—“ Olivia barely got her question out before Met had her wrist in her hand and was pulling her down the path. “Hey!”

“This way, this way!” Met led her down a side path deeper into the woods. 

“The train station isn’t even this way!” Olivia protested.

“We’re not taking that old thing. That place is swarming with witches,” Met said. After a while, she let go of Olivia’s wrist and they going. Met hovered above the path, something that Olivia couldn’t help but resent—her legs were burning and she could only see so far ahead of her in this place where not even the moon shone. 

The two emerged into a clearing that was almost completely surrounded by trees, except the far end where they came face to face with a stony cliff face. Olivia craned her neck back and saw that it was not a cliff, but part of a mountain. In the rock face there was an arched door and steps barely visible through the gloom. Met flew straight for them, and Olivia groaned and chased her in.

“We’re almost there,” Met said to her. “I left my motorcycle upstairs near where the portal is.”

Olivia had so many questions. What motorcycle? What portal? Where were they, in the first place? She was too out-of-breath to ask them, but when they finally reached the top of the stairs, they were all answered at once.

Met did indeed have a motorcycle, a shiny black one with no passenger car but enough room that they’d both be able to sit on it. It had been left unceremoniously in some bushes nearby. Olivia’s eyes widened at the sight of the blankets of flowers covering the soft green grass, and the vines of weeping willows that swayed in the gentle breeze. A worn down path, embedded with marble, wove through the garden and towards a little wooden bridge that went somewhere Olivia couldn’t quite see. Although it should have been too chilly for it, fireflies illuminated the area. Olivia reached out and cupped on in her hands, admiring its golden glow before allowing it to float away.

“Over here.” Met’s voice was unusually quiet compared to how excited she sounded before. She tromped through the bushes, propped her motorcycle upright, and started walking it towards some hedges. “I don’t have a spare helmet, so you’ll have to hold on tight.”

Olivia tore her eyes a bed of lily of the valleys and approached the motorcycle, retying her scarf so the tails wouldn’t fly out and catch on anything. Met had the motorcycle facing the hedges, which Olivia noted were littered with small flowers. She had already mounted the motorcycle, and Olivia climbed on after her and rested her hands on her shoulders.  
“No. Around my waist, dummy,” Met said, wrapping Olivia’s arms around her. “You’ll fall of like that.”

“S-sorry,” Olivia squeaked. She had no other choice but to cling to Met as the motorcycle shuddered and came to life. The air was disrupted by loud revving sounds, which turned into rumbling as Met drove the motorcycle straight through the bushes. Then, everything went quiet again.

\--

After the sounds of the motorcycle had died down, a figure emerged from the trees and crossed the bridge, carrying a large scythe over her shoulder. As if stepping around shards of glass, she picked her way around the flowers and stopped near the entrance.

“Helloooo?” She looked this way and that. “We heard you, you know…”

She stepped over to the torn-up grass by the hedges and knelt down to press her fingertips to the ground. “Ahh, the flowers here were trampled. They’re not going to like this…ohhh?”

She noticed then that the havoc wrecked on the ground had left a path of destruction that she followed until she reached the hedges. She pushed the leaves and branches aside and poked her head through. Upon seeing what was on the other side, her wide-eyed expression became a frown.

“Who opened this? One of those witches?” The girl’s eyelids lowered. “…I won’t leave this unchecked.”

Then, she turned around and cupped her hand around her mouth. “I’m going out for a biiiiit!”

With that out of the way, she went through the bushes and disappeared from sight.

\--

It was already night in the human world when Met and Olivia came crashing out through the bushes. The motorcycle skidded along the concrete and almost smashed into a lamppost, eliciting excited squealing from Met and a small scream from Olivia.

“Shit, did anyone hear us?!” Met laughed, extending her foot to catch the motorcycle before it fell sideways.

“P-p-probably,” Olivia chattered as she clung to Met. She glanced to the side and saw a familiar stone wall; within were benches and a playground she knew well. “Oh…that’s the park. Papa used to take me there a lot when I was little.”

“So you know where we are?” Met asked. Olivia nodded into her shoulder. “Great! Theeen…ah…I wonder where I last saw her…?”

“You mean you brought us here without any leads?” Olivia deadpanned.

“No, no, I remember,” Met said. “We were near a coffee shop, and I could see the ocean from there. Ahhh it was great…”

She started up the motorcycle again and started driving down the street. Now that they were going at a slower pace, Olivia felt like she could calm down a little…until she noticed a familiar building coming up on their right. She shuddered and hid her face in Met’s hair.

“Oh hey, that’s where we saw you!” she heard Met saying.

“Let’s just keep going already,” Olivia mumbled, not wanting to look at the school.

“Eh…?” Met looked back at Olivia, before shifting gears and driving a little faster. Once the school was out of sight, Met began to whistle.

They continued to drive for a long time. Met swerved in and out of traffic, down back roads and behind buildings. Olivia was content to stay quiet and watch the city go by, recognizing some places and being utterly confused by others. It was really a city in the loosest sense of the word, since there were no skyscrapers or similarly huge buildings. It was more accurate to call it a large, seaside town. Many times they passed by markets that smelled of fish, and once in a while they’d see a car drive by with a canoe attached to the roof.

Once in a while, they’d pass by a place that Olivia would recognize and she’d let her gaze linger, but Met drove fast enough that it’d be gone in the blink of an eye. They soon went far enough into the city, though, that none of the buildings held any interest to Olivia. She almost fell asleep against Met’s back when she felt the motorcycle slow down and come to a stop.

“What’s wrong?” Olivia asked as Met dismounted the motorcycle.

“Nothin’s wrong. We’re taking a break!” Met said as she stretched her arms. Olivia got off the motorcycle and stretched as well, realizing how stiff her limbs were. They were currently in a parking lot just outside a shopping district that was not as crowded as it could have been. Olivia and Met left the motorcycle and walked out among the shops, many of which sold food. 

Olivia, who hadn’t eaten in a while, could feel her stomach growling. However, when she dug into her pockets, she realized that she had left her wallet at the house. She hadn’t brought it out with her in the first place, and she doubted anyone here would be as generous as Maekami had been.

They ended up in front of a butcher’s shop, where Met was admiring the cuts of meat arranged in the window. Olivia noticed a few rabbits among the display and gulped.  
“Raw meat’s bloody goooood,” Met hummed to herself. Olivia grimaced. “What should I get? Is rabbit meat any good?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never had it…”

Met pressed her forehead to the window with a small clack (she was still wearing her helmet). “But there are so many bun buns back in the Pitch World. Are you saying people don’t take advantage of that?”

“Our devil really likes rabbits,” Olivia explained. “So it was made illegal to hunt or kill them, and now they’ve multiplied like crazy. I see them a lot in the forest near my house. They’re so cute…”

“Eh? But that lovely demon girl was eating them back at the school. Ohh, what a rebel,” Met gushed. Olivia gave her a look of disbelief. “Hey, not everyone has the same preferences when it comes to girls, you know.”

“I know that,” Olivia grumbled, opting to wait outside while Met entered the butcher’s shop. Across the street, she could see the wide screens of a TV store broadcasting the evening news. Although she was far away, Olivia could hear the anchor’s voice:

“…reports of wildlife found mutilated by our park rangers in…”

“…already seven people missing as of Wednesday…”

Met came out ten minutes later with a package under her arm, stealing her attention away from the news report. Olivia didn’t want to know what kind of meat it was.  
With a skip in her step, Met hopped down the sidewalk. “Now with that, let’s—ah! Waffles!”

“Huh?! Met, wait up!”

She ran off towards a vendor nearby, and Olivia jogged after her to keep up. Met made a beeline for a window a few shops down from the butcher’s, where a queue was already lined up. The sweet aroma of chocolate wafted in the air, but Olivia’s pockets were empty. With a sigh, she waited for Met to get to the front of the line. The ghost girl soon returned to her with a handful of steaming waffles, one with a bite in it already to reveal the chocolate underneath. Met’s helmet was under her arm along with her purchase from the butcher’s, and between that and the waffles her hands were quite full.

“Say ‘ahhh’!” Met said with a wide grin as she held out a waffle to Olivia.

“Huh?!” Olivia stepped back, feeling her face grow hot. “I can just take the waffle…oh, fine.”

She took a bite of the waffle. Though it was a bit embarrassing to eat it like that, she didn’t regret it at all if it was for chocolate. Met laughed and handed the rest of the waffle to her, and they strolled back to the motorcycle while eating.

“Oh man, can you believe there are ghosts who don’t eat? This stuff is great,” Met rambled as they reached the motorcycle. She leaned against the seat and kept on eating. “Man.”  
Olivia was too focused on her own waffle to give a proper response. Met popped up the seat of the motorcycle and put the bag of meat in the small compartment underneath.  
They lingered for a while after eating to rest, then got back on the motorcycle and continued on. Olivia found herself nodding off as Met drove at a leisurely pace through the streets, taking the back roads to avoid crowds. She’d wake every now and then to find her surroundings were different each time. Many times through the night, she heard sirens blaring, but her fatigue was stronger than her curiosity. 

By the time the morning’s light was on the horizon, she could hear the sound of the waves. Met had parked in front of a stop sign and was looking around the intersection. On the other side of the street, Olivia noticed a quaint green building with a sign in the shape of a teacup. So that was the café…

Met was no longer talking, but instead humming to herself again as she started up the motorcycle again and drove on. It was early enough in the morning that few cars were out, so they had the streets mostly to themselves. They drove around for a while, until the streets grew more crowded. Met pulled into a narrow side street and then into a small parking lot, where Olivia stumbled off the motorcycle and onto a bench.

“Heyyy, wake uuuup,” Met said, pulling Olivia’s cheeks. When Olivia moaned in protest, the ghost stepped back. “You know what you need? Coffee. Wait there!”  
Met ran off, leaving Olivia alone on the bench. She curled up on her side and stayed that way for a while, until a familiar scent reached her nose. Her eyes snapped open and she jolted into wakefulness, but out of fear. Olivia sat up, trembling, and looked in the direction of the smell.

Her eyes fell upon the motorcycle.

“…Oh.” Olivia hung her head and sighed. She’d forgotten.

“Oliviaaaaa! Olive! I got it!” Olivia looked up to see Met jogging over to her, holding a cup of coffee in each hand. Upon receiving her share, Olivia sniffed through the lid. It had a spicy scent, but was less so when she actually drank it.

“…Thanks,” Olivia said.

“No prob, no prob. Let’s go look for that girl, c’mon!” And there went Met, rushing back to the streets. Olivia followed at a slower pace, rubbing her eyes as she went.

\--

As it turned out, it was difficult to find a demon when there were no clues to her whereabouts. Olivia spent the morning following Met around as usual, gazing listlessly at her surroundings and passing the time by window shopping. She kept an eye out, but in these crowds she felt more hopeless than ever. Met seemed to have unending energy, running all over the place without getting tired, while Olivia took frequent breaks to rest her legs.

When they had exhausted the area around the coffee shop, they returned to the motorcycle and kept going. However, there was not much land left to cover—the ocean was closer than ever. It was evening, and they were cruising in the direction of the cliff overlooking the sea. It was a surprise there was no lighthouse, but then again, all the ports were in the opposite direction. Beyond that was forest and mountains, the same as what surrounded the rest of the city.

“Hey, Met,” Olivia said. The two had stopped to rest and search near a telephone pole, where Olivia was reading the signs tacked to it. Almost all of them were wanted posters for missing pets and people alike.

“Yeah?” Met asked as she stared into the horizon.

“You’re a ghost, right?”

“Should be obvious,” Met answered with a shrug. Olivia fiddled with the ends of her scarf.

“…Does dying hurt?” Olivia asked after a pause. Met was silent for a long while, scratching the back of her neck while Olivia looked down at her feet.

Finally, Met let out a short but earnest laugh. “Haha! That came out of nowhere. I don’t remember a thing about when I died, so I dunno! Who cares, anyway?”

Her words would have been harsh if they weren’t said in such a light-hearted tone. Olivia nodded and suddenly found herself wanting to change the subject.

“Um, by the way…”

“Mm?”

“You should do something about the meat you’re keeping in the motorcycle. It’s been reeking of blood all day.”

“Whuh?” Met adjusted her helmet. “I ate it all last night while you were sleeping. You don’t remember?”

Olivia went pale.

“You really smell blood? Where’s it comin’ from?” Met asked, suddenly sounding curious. Olivia was unable to find an answer to Met’s question. However, she was saved by a third voice, high and feminine, joining in on the conversation.

“It came from the woods over there!”

Both Met and Olivia turned to see a tallish girl, clothes covered in monochrome stripes, standing in the road. Two curvy black horns rose from her rose-colored hair, and her sharp teeth were aligned in a wide smile. Olivia’s eyes wandered to the large scythe the girl held over her shoulder.

“You’re the one who opened the portal, aren’t you?” the scythe girl asked, making direct eye contact with Olivia. She looked away, startled and confused.

“Huh? Wh-what?” Olivia stammered. The girl’s smile softened.

“There’s no mistake about it: you’re one of the only non-humans for miles with a motorcycle,” she said.

“Hey, it’s MY motorcycle,” Met corrected her, but the scythe girl ignored her and lifted her scythe off her shoulder. Olivia watched as she raised the blade into the air like a flag. How heavy it must have been. The scythe came slicing through the air towards her, but before it could hit its mark, Olivia was tackled to the ground.

“Hey, don’t get in my way,” the girl said, withdrawing her weapon. Met stood up, pulling Olivia with her.

“Nah, I don’t think so,” Met said, pulling out a long metal pipe from behind her back with one hand and pushing Olivia away with the other. “Hey, Olive, learn how to dodge!”  
“…Oh,” was all Olivia could muster as the two went at each other. 

The girl swung her scythe at Met, who ducked down just in time and swung her leg to kick the other’s legs out from under her. As if it had been choreographed, the other girl hopped up and onto Met’s head, pushing her to the ground. The glass part of her helmet made a loud cracking sound, and Olivia saw blood pool on the pavement beneath.  
Once Met was down, the girl leapt off and pounced at Olivia, who took a step back a second too late. The girl kneed her in the chest and grabbed her shoulder with her free hand, knocking her to the ground. The back of Olivia’s head smacked against the sidewalk, filling her vision with stars. She felt something cool and sharp press against her neck and a heavy weight on her stomach.

“Oh, you’re not fighting back,” the girl said as Olivia coughed. Her smile took on a much guiltier tone. “Whoops. Looks like I’ve made a mistake.”

She removed the scythe, but remained seated. “If you’re going to come to the human world, you’d better make yourself more invisible. For example, use a quieter vehicle. And if you’re going to eat, don’t leave a mess behind. Humans are quick to notice dead things lying around and your cover will be blown.”

“But I haven’t eaten any meat…” Olivia trailed off. She thought back to the demon girl. She had been eating the rabbits, hadn’t she? This girl currently sitting on her was clearly a demon as well, no doubt from the same world she and Met just left. She probably knew about the law against eating rabbits, but that didn’t apply in the human world, did it?  
The girl blinked, mouth gaping slightly to reveal her pointy teeth. At last, she stood up and stepped back, allowing Olivia to scramble to her feet.

“That’s it,” the girl said, more to herself than to Olivia. She looked back towards the forest. “The one who was causing all this trouble is responsible for the portal.”

Meanwhile, Olivia was stumbling over to where Met was lying on the ground.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m not dead!” Met cried, leaping to her feet. She pulled off her helmet—now shattered beyond repair—and threw it to the ground. “But my helmet is. And wow, you’re not sliced and diced. What’s that girl’s deal? I’ll bash her head in.”

“Wait, no, she just calmed down,” Olivia protested, holding out her arms to keep Met from approaching the other. She was swaying where she stood, in no condition to actually stop Met from doing anything, but it looked like she was going to stay put.

“I have a friend who would be sad if you did that, you know,” the rose-haired girl said.

“Yeah, well so does she!”

Olivia looked away and mumbled, “No, I…don’t…”

As Met and the other girl went back and forth—she wasn’t paying attention to what they were saying—Olivia shut her eyes and felt at the bump on the back of her head. Putting pressure on it made her wince, and she took her hand away. When she opened her eyes again, the sun shining on the horizon line nearly blinded her.

“Met, it’s almost dark. Let’s go,” Olivia urged the other. “We might be close to finding her.”

Met lowered the pipe in her hand, allowing the tip to clack against the ground. “Yeah, let’s get the hell away from this girl!”

They hurried to the motorcycle, but curiously enough, the other girl wasn’t doing anything to stop them. Once Met had started driving off, however, she skipped along behind in great strides. Olivia grimaced; hadn’t she given up on them? Or maybe…she was waiting for them to lead her to the one they were searching for?

“Stop following us,” Olivia half-shouted in a vain attempt to drive her away.

“What was that? I’m not just going to leave when there’s still a problem, you know,” the girl shouted back.

Olivia turned back to Met. “She said the blood smell was coming from the forest, right? Maybe we can lose her if we go in there.”

“Okay!” Met swerved off the road and into the grass as Olivia screamed.

The motorcycle kept up for a while, but the combination of the hill and the bumpy ground soon forced Met and Olivia to dismount the motorcycle and hide it in some bushes. Through the trees, they could see the girl still pursuing them, but it didn’t look like she could see them. In any case, there was another pressing matter that had their attention: the stench of blood that seemed to saturate everything around them. Olivia considered holding her breath, and wondered how Met could be so unaffected by the smell.

Noticing that the girl with the scythe was getting closer, Olivia further into the trees. The smell grew stronger the higher up the hill she climbed. By the time the ground evened out, Olivia saw blood splatters on the ground and red chunks mixed into the grass. She stepped around them so as not to dirty her shoes, but Met tromped right on through without even looking down. Every once in a while, they’d hear the girl with the scythe’s voice echoing as she called out to them, but Olivia didn’t feel too inclined to answer her.

“What is this…? Human or animal blood?” Olivia asked. Met shrugged.

“Doesn’t matter. Murder is murder!” And then she laughed. Olivia was about to shush her when they both heard a resounding crunch.

Olivia went still and strained her ears. There was that crunching sound again, but much quieter. She felt anticipation swirl in her stomach, and ran on ahead giving no more thoughts to the guts squishing beneath her feet.

There, in a small clearing, the grass and tree trunks had been painted red and brown with blood. Mangled piles of meat that were once animals—or humans, it was hard to tell—had been strewn with recklessness every which way. There she was, in the center of it all: the demon girl stained with blood as she sat on the ground, tearing into a chunk of meat with impolite chewing and smacking sounds. Her wings were fully extended and her tail was swishing around with excitement. At least with the rabbits, they could still be recognized as such, but this—

“Ohh! We finally found you!” Met cooed, clasping her hands together in adoration. Olivia remained silent. Her eyes were fixed on the demon girl, which meant as soon as she looked up they locked eyes.

The demon looked over at Met and gave a short wave. “Hey, you.”

“Oh, you can call me ‘Met’,” Met said, her voice taking on a sweeter tone than what Olivia was used to. The demon took another bite out of the meat she was holding and stood up. She looked back and forth between Met and Olivia, who hid her nervous smile behind her scarf.

“I’m Hanten,” she said after a long pause. A bit of blood squirted from between her teeth. Then, with a bloody smile, “…I’m still hungry.”

“Huh?” Olivia blinked, but she never got the chance to react further because at that moment, the girl with the scythe burst from the trees and charged right for them.

“I found youuu!” she cried in a sing-song voice. Olivia was pushed roughly out of the way, but she managed to right herself before she fell into a nearby puddle of gore. Hanten dropped the meat she was holding and held her claws out to catch the girl by the shoulders and fling her to the ground, and then charge towards Met, who already had her pipe ready.

“A little sudden, huh?!” Met gasped. She stepped back to avoid Hanten before thrusting the pipe forward to catch her in the stomach. Hanten coughed but recovered quickly—the end of the pipe was curved and blunt—and twisted the metal in her hands.

Meanwhile, the scythe girl was getting up off the ground and running back into the fray. She swung her scythe down towards Hanten. She managed to clip her arm, but ultimately missed, as Hanten used her grip on the pipe to swing Met around and switch places with her. The scythe went through Met’s torso and she let out a blood-curdled cry before going limp.

“I’m not done with you,” the scythe girl said as she pushed Met’s body off the scythe blade. She sliced at Hanten’s middle, actually landing in a hit before Hanten spread her wings and flew back, putting distance between her and her opponent. The scythe girl flitted around the edge of the clearing to get behind her, though Hanten dove after her and sunk her teeth into her leg for going through the trouble.

The two screamed and struggled on the ground for a while until a more than a few bite marks quieted the pink-haired girl, who was quick to slip into unconsciousness. Hanten stood up and wiped the blood from her mouth.

Olivia, who had witnessed the entire thing, was frozen in shock.

\--

By the time Olivia had snapped out of her trance, Hanten had left the clearing for the trees beyond. Olivia looked down at Met’s body lying a few feet away. The cut had been messy and she could see inside the wound on her back. It felt unreal to look at.

“…Met?” Olivia croaked. She approached the fallen girl and reached down to shake her shoulder. Met was unresponsive. Olivia moved over to the other girl, who had sustained many bite wounds.

“Um…I never got your name…” Olivia said. Though she had caused her and Met a lot of trouble, the state she was in was enough for Olivia to put that aside for the moment. At the very least, she had forgotten about it in the carnage.

Olivia glanced in the direction Hanten walked off in, noticing blood dripping from the bushes and staining the grass. She followed the path of blood out of the clearing and through the trees. It led her in a straight path out of the forest, where she emerged on the cliff overlooking the ocean. It was a fairly wide cliff—it had to be, to accommodate a forest—and tapered inwards to a small point at the edge, where Hanten was. Had it not been a full moon, Olivia wouldn’t have even seen her there in the moonlight.  
Olivia didn’t bother trying to mask her steps as she approached, and Hanten turned around. 

“You again,” Hanten said.

Olivia stopped a few feet away. She remained silent, not because she was at loss for words, but because she was looking for the right thing to say. Hanten put her hands in her pockets and waited with an expectant look in her eyes until Olivia looked up at her and opened her mouth.

“Why…”

“Hm?”

“…did you kill everything?” Olivia asked.

Without missing a beat, Hanten replied, “Because I was hungry. I felt like taking a trip this time around.”

The simplicity of Hanten’s response caught Olivia off guard. It wasn’t worth everything she had gone through. It wasn’t fair. And now, she didn’t even know what she was supposed to do now that she had her answer.

Maybe if she asked more questions, she’d get something more meaningful out of Hanten.

“Why didn’t you ever do anything to me?” Olivia went on. Hanten’s lips quirked upwards in a smile, and she put her hand on the back of her neck.

“You’re kind of an odd one is why,” Hanten admitted. “You give the impression of being a demon, but you look human. You’re too weak-looking to pick a fight with, but enough like a demon that I don’t feel like messing with you. I’ve been wondering how I should react to you.”

Olivia gulped. “Uh…ah…I’m…”

This time, she really was at loss for words. She, who couldn’t comfortably call herself human or demon, couldn’t comfortably say anything to Hanten, either.

“Were you gonna say something?” Hanten asked her, one of her clawed hands extending in an inviting gesture. At the same time, a breeze blew, and Olivia shivered.

“I don’t know…” she said at last. She looked at Hanten’s claws. Where were her claws? Where were her horns? Her wings? Her tail? The last time she’d heard those questions, she’d been at the first school she went to, back in the Pitch World. Back then, she was just as out of place among her full-blooded demon classmates. It was no different from how she felt in the human world.

“I can’t call myself either of those things,” Olivia said in a small voice. “I…I don’t know what I am anymore…”

Hanten took a step back as Olivia put her face in her hands and made a small sobbing noise. “Hey, calm down there.”

Behind Olivia’s eyelids, she saw a familiar pattern of symbols forming geometric shapes of birds and wings, and when she opened her eyes they were still there. Her expression distorted and became a deep frown.

“Be quiet.”

\--

Olivia knelt in the grass, shaking and trying to catch her breath. She leaned over the edge of the cliff and stared down at the ocean below, the sounds of its waves nothing more than a distant rumble. A few feet away, Hanten was lying unconscious in the grass, but for now, all Olivia had eyes for was beyond the cliff.

“…Sorry, Papa,” she apologized, even though he wasn’t here right now. “I ended up lashing out again.”

With a sniffle, she stood up. She was dangerously close to the edge of the cliff, but one, two, three steps backwards put her at a safer distance. When she finally looked down at Hanten, she saw something very unusual: her white hair had dulled to grey, and her horns had shrunk down to black corkscrews.

The moon was still in the sky, so the night was still young. Olivia hooked her arms under Hanten’s and dragged her away from the cliff and back towards the forest. In truth, she didn’t know what to do now; maybe going back to Met would do something.

When she reached the blood-soaked clearing again, she saw Met sitting in a puddle of her own blood and fiddling with her shirt, which had been torn up. The other girl was standing nearby, cleaning her scythe as if she wasn’t suffering from multiple bite wounds. When Olivia arrived on the scene, they both turned their attention to her.

“Wow, what happened?” Met asked.

“Nothing,” Olivia muttered, careful not to drag Hanten through the worst of the gore splattered on the ground.

The rose-haired girl looked around the clearing. With a frown, she said, “We should leave.”

“Huh?” Met gave a confused look as she took Hanten from Olivia, hoisting her onto her back. “Right now?”

“Yes. My work here is done,” she said with a sage nod. “I’m going to return to my friend. I can’t let any humans find the three of you, either.”

“So…” Olivia fidgeted. “Are you going to take us back…?”

“Yes.”

Perhaps this would be faster than how she and Met got here. Olivia felt a weight lift off her chest. “Thank you, um…”

“Satsukugi,” Satsukugi said. Met curled her lip.

“You attacked us. I’m not trusting you,” she pointed out. Satsukugi’s brow furrowed in distress.

“It was a mistake that time,” Satsukugi protested. “I really mean it when I say I’m sorry. Besides…my friend would be upset if I didn’t help out.”

Met gave Olivia a questioning look, to which Olivia replied with a single nod.

Met hummed a bit. “Weeell, I guess I could see how many people will fit on my motorcycle.”

As it turned out, all four of them were able to fit onto the motorcycle, as long as they squeezed together a bit. Met, of course, steered, with Hanten resting against her back and Olivia holding onto the both of them. Satsukugi sat on the end with her scythe, barely holding on. However, as they sped down the road, she never seemed uncomfortable, instead looking up at the night sky. Olivia imagined she had a content expression: because Satsukugi had her back to her, she couldn’t actually tell.

This time, they made no stops. Although they didn’t have to walk or run for once, riding against the wind for so long was exhausting. Olivia fought back sleep, not wanting to be the second unconscious girl on this motorcycle. If she fell, she might have taken Hanten with her.

The moon dipped lower still in the sky as they rode on. They took the most deserted roads and roundabout ways they could find, so as to avoid being seen by humans. Hanten’s horns could easily be concealed, but Satsukugi was like a wasp nest in an empty room.

When the sky was just barely beginning to lighten, they had returned to the park where Olivia and Met first exited through. Satsukugi looked over her shoulder and called out, “Stop here!”

Met slowed the motorcycle and put her foot out to steady it. “Huh?”

“I need to close the portal that opened up here,” Satsukugi explained. “You know where the train station is, right? Wait for me there, and I’ll get you once I’m done.”

“Why can’t we just go through the portal with you?” Met asked as Hanten began to stir. Olivia squeaked as the drowsy girl leaned back against her with an incoherent mumble.

“Because, you’re not allowed where the portal opened up,” Satsukugi said. “It’s secret. Sacred. Just trust me.”

“Haha, really? Whoops,” Met said as Olivia groaned. “If this’ll get us out of here, let’s do it. I’m tired of the human world.”

Though Olivia didn’t say it aloud, she agreed.

\--

By the time the three reached the train station, Hanten was already awake. She reacted at first with shock, which dissolved into confusion when Met hugged her out of nowhere. As she pushed the ghost away, she started asking questions:

“I lost track of time, what’s the date, again?”

“Nobody saw me, did they?”

“You guys seriously came after me?”

Olivia looked around the deserted platform. Few trains ran at this hour. One full of passengers would pass through but never stop, and keep going. Hanten yawned and rolled up her sleeves that were stiff with dried blood. Every now and then she’d scratch at her hair or adjust her clothes. Just watching her was enough to make Olivia fidget, too.

Hanten glanced over at her. “Hey. I—“

Before Hanten could finish her sentence, the announcer’s voice echoed throughout the platform: “Pitch World…train 5 from Pitch World…”

A sleek black train pulled into the station, containing only a few passengers. The train slid to a stop, and the doors hissed open. Satsukugi strolled out, followed by a woman with long white hair and short, dark horns. Hanten’s tail went completely straight, reminding Olivia of a startled cat.

“Mom?!” Hanten cried. The white-haired woman ran across the platform—an impressive feat considering she was wearing heels.

“Hanten! We were so worried!” the woman cried. Satsukugi approached, holding what Olivia recognized as train tickets instead of her scythe.

“Uh, not that I’m unhappy to see you, but how’d you even find me?” Hanten asked as Olivia stepped out of the way. The woman gave Hanten a quick hug before putting her hands on her shoulders and holding her back at arm’s length.

“I was asking if anyone had seen you and ran into this nice girl here who knew who you were,” the woman explained. Satsukugi gave an awkward smile. “Agh, what happened to your clothes?”

Without waiting for an answer, she took a cellphone out of her pocket, pressed a few buttons, and held it up to her ear. Met walked her motorcycle over to Satsukugi and said something to her, but Olivia’s immediate attention was on the phone conversation taking place.

“Dear, I found her…The human world. A demon coming back from there helped me out…” the woman said. She met eyes with Olivia and stared for a few moments before her eyes widened. Olivia looked away.

“Olivia? Ah…oh! Yes, actually, she’s here too…Yes, she’s calm…I will, love you!...See you soon, then.” The woman hung up.

She had Olivia at her name. Olivia reached into her dress pocket and shuffled around, noting the absence of her cell phone. She’d completely forgotten about it when she left for Maekami’s, so of course she wouldn’t have been able to pick up if Sullivan tried to contact her. In fact, she wasn’t even thinking of him when she asked Met to take her back to the human world.

There was no other way to put it: she was in big trouble.

Once Olivia realized this, her heart sank, and stayed sunk as she followed the others onto the train. The others talked amongst themselves as the doors shut and the train rolled into the tunnel. The lights flickered outside the windows, but Olivia ignored them and stared down at her hands. She clenched and unclenched them, then settled back against the seat.

The train ride was over soon enough, and the group exited onto the platform, crowded as usual. Fortunately, however, Met’s motorcycle was enough of a disruption that the surrounding demons and witches gave them wide berth. In no time at all, they were walking down the stairs and into the cool night air.

The entire time, Olivia couldn’t help but notice how uncomfortable Satsukugi looked in the crowd. As soon as they were outside, she broke off of the group and ran on ahead.  
“I’m going home now, see ya!” she yelled to them as she bolted. Hanten’s mom frowned a bit.

“I didn’t even get to thank her properly,” she huffed. “Oh, well.”

Satsukugi ran on, past a couple of men who were standing near a lamppost. Olivia recognized her father as one of them and hid behind Met and her motorcycle. Thus, she didn’t get to see the reunion between Hanten and the pink-haired man she assumed to be her father—the horns were the same—and continued to cower as Sullivan hurried towards her.

“Olivia! Where were you?!” he wheezed. Olivia looked down at her feet.

“Hey it’s okay, Met was with her!” Met said, pointing to herself with both thumbs.

“Uh, I don’t feel very assured when you’re covered in blood like that…” Sullivan pointed out. “Olivia, what were you doing out there?”

When Olivia remained silent, he let out a heavy sigh. “Let’s just go home.”

“What, you’re not gonna stick around?” the pink-haired man called out to Sullivan as he and Olivia walked off. Olivia looked back at Met and gave a small wave.

“Bye, Olive!” Met said, all smiles. Olivia managed a small smile in return.

The walk back home was devoid of conversation, but Olivia felt like that made it even worse. Glancing at Sullivan’s face, she saw bags under his eyes and a tired frown. She looked away before he noticed her staring.

When they reached the house, Sullivan closed the front door behind them and finally broke the silence.

“Olivia, you can’t just disappear like that,” he scolded her. “What were you doing out there?”

“…Nothing…” Olivia mumbled as she kicked off her boots.

“We could have just arranged for a weekend trip or something.” Sullivan’s face fell when Olivia walked past him. He followed, saying, “It’s dangerous to go there by yourself, no matter how much you blend in. Just because you had a friend with you doesn’t make it any more okay. I was worried sick about you!”

Olivia let out a small sniffle, and Sullivan stopped in his tracks.

“…Sorry,” Olivia hiccupped. “…I won’t bother you anymore.”

With a small sob, she ran up the stairs. 

“Olivia?! Wha—hey!” Sullivan reached out for her, but it was too late. He heard a door slam upstairs and slumped against the wall, feeling a little ill.

“…What do I do?” he lamented to no one in particular.

\--

The full moon was a beautiful sight in the Pitch World. It was a beacon of light in the oil-black sky, outshining all of the tiny little stars with its radiance. It was the same no matter what world Olivia was in, which was why she loved it so much.

Tonight, she was trekking up a hill overlooking the surrounding forest. It was the best spot closest to her house, not her first choice, but tonight was different.

When she reached the top of the hill, she sneezed. In the time she was gone, the weather had grown colder all of a sudden. Even with her hoodie and scarf on, she could still feel the chill. She thought she saw snowflakes, too.

“Gesundheit.”

Olivia looked over to see Hanten, standing among the lily of the valleys dotting the hill. Olivia blinked in surprise and approached.

“I didn’t expect to see you here,” she commented. Hanten shrugged.

“Same. I didn’t know you actually came from here.”

Olivia looked up at the moon. “…I don’t.”

“Then where?” Hanten asked. Olivia remained fixated on the moon, taking advantage of a view without tree branches getting in the way.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. It’s gone now,” Olivia answered. 

Hanten looked up at the moon as well, and there was a moment of silence. Olivia’s gaze traveled, but her eyes never left the sky.

“Hey.”

Olivia’s ears perked. She looked away from the moon and met eyes with Hanten. The other girl was making an expression Olivia couldn’t quite put a finger on. It seemed…sad.

“Uh, about what happened, when I was…well, you know…I’m sorry about that,” Hanten said with a small grimace. Olivia exhaled softly, and her breathe came out in a soft puff of white.

“I don’t mind,” she said with a nod. Hanten cracked a smile.

“You know, you really are weird,” she said. Olivia chuckled. Maybe she was. Hanten gave a short laugh in return, and her teeth chattered together. This caught Olivia off-guard, but then she noticed Hanten’s closed-off body language: the crossed arms and hunched shoulders seemed less of shyness and more of cold. Olivia took off her hoodie, ignoring the cold, and pulled it over Hanten’s head.

“Ack—what do you think you’re doing?!” Hanten cried as Olivia forced the sweater onto her. She pushed her arms through her sleeves and adjusted her clothes with an indignant glare. It was when Olivia took off her scarf and wrapped it around her neck that Hanten’s frown faded. Olivia fussed with the tails of the scarf, looping them around and under the rest of the scarf. She stepped back to admire her handiwork, and couldn’t help but smile at the demon’s confused expression.

“Isn’t this your favorite scarf or something?” Hanten asked with a furrowed brow. “You’re always wearing it, I mean…”

Olivia shook her head. “I don’t need it anymore.”

Hanten rubbed the scarf’s fabric between her fingers. “If you say so.”

Olivia closed her eyes momentarily. With this, there was nothing else for her to do here. She turned away, taking one last look at the moon before looking to the forest path ahead of her.

“Well, I’m done here, so I’m going now,” she said to Hanten.

“See you later, then,” came Hanten’s reply.

“Bye.”

With that, Olivia walked back the way she came, back to her house.

\--

The past week had been hectic, but Sullivan had made it through. All of his paperwork was done, Olivia was safe at home, and he was leaving work early tonight. Glasses volunteered to turn in the last of his work so he could leave, which was something Sullivan made note to thank him for later. He decided on treating him next time they went to Maekami’s, and there would be plenty of opportunities for that considering they always went there after work.

This time, however, the only stop Sullivan made on the way home was to the grocery store for a slice of chocolate cake. As he hurried along the path leading home, he checked the sky for clouds. The moon was obscured by clouds tonight, and he hoped it wouldn’t start snowing. With snow always came wind, and it was miserable to walk in.  
Luckily, none of that happened. When he finally reached home, he walked right on in.

“Olivia, I’m home!” he called out into the gloom. He closed the door behind him, effectively submerging himself in darkness. His eyes adjusted quickly, however, and he reached for the light switch on the nearby wall.

Sullivan checked his watch, but it was only 8:30 at night. Olivia didn’t go to bed that early.

“She’s probably in her room or something,” Sullivan told himself as he walked down the hall to the kitchen. He put the cake slice in the fridge and took a moment to stretch his arms. “Phew. Olivia? I brought home cake!”

When she didn’t answer, he furrowed his brow. He was starting to suspect that maybe she had gone to sleep, but he wouldn’t have blamed her. After all, she had been wandering around, probably lost, for the past few days in the human world. Before that, there was the situation at school…She needed all the rest she could get right now.  
Sullivan left the kitchen, and that was when he noticed a light coming from a room down the next hallway.

“Huh? The bathroom?” Sullivan muttered to himself. “Did she leave the light on or something?”

He walked over, ready to turn out the lights and then be on his way, but the moment he stepped in through the doorway, he froze.

Olivia was curled up on the floor underneath the sink, hands clutched to her chest.

“…Olivia?” Sullivan started. He would have thought she was asleep if she wasn’t motionless. She was eerily still, like a doll someone left on the ground mid-play. He stepped over to her and knelt down, slowly as if he was afraid to rouse her.

“Olivia,” he said, reaching out to touch her shoulder. That was when he noticed the reddish-brown that stained her right sleeve. It had splattered on the floor and even the wall. Sullivan’s heart was going so fast he could feel it, and it felt like it was pumping panic instead of blood into his veins.

He hooked an arm under her neck to steady her as he gently extended her right arm, and blanched when he saw her wrist. “Oh no…Oh, shit…”

The panic racing through him caused his entire body to shake. She was impossibly fragile. Sullivan was astounded that someone so small could have so much blood in them.

“Ah…ah…” Sullivan felt a lump in his throat and tears building up in his eyes. He took a sharp breath and steeled himself.

No.

He wasn’t going to break down like this, even if he couldn’t tell in his panic if his child had stopped breathing, or was close to it. In this situation, every second was precious and couldn’t afford to be wasted. If he didn’t do something, he was going to lose Olivia.

Sullivan took a deep breath. He then removed his coat and wrapped it around Olivia before scooping her into his arms. When he stood up, her head lolled against his shoulder, and he moved his hand to brush her hair.

“It’s going to be okay, Olivia,” he murmured to her before turning and running off. He burst out of the house and practically flew down the path, taking a turn down a less trodden road deeper into the woods. He came out into a clearing and ran across that towards the doorway in the mountain face on the other side. There was still something he could do. Someone he could turn to for help.

Someone was in the garden. Lanterns had been lit, guiding the way to the small bridge that lead to it. There were trees and flowers here, yes, but the true garden was inside. Sullivan ran across it without even announcing his presence and crashed into a clearing, where stone tiles had been laid in the ground in rings. A black-hooded figure with antlers and skeletal hands was kneeling in the center, tending to the flowers that grew between these rings. When Sullivan entered the scene, they turned around.

“Sullivan, it’s certainly been a while—ohmygoodness!” they cried out in alarm. Their deer skull of a head couldn’t make facial expressions, but even then it was plain how startled they were. Sullivan skidded onto his knees in front of them, still holding Olivia close to him.

“Shikabone, save her!” he cried, unable to hold back his tears.

“Wha—whaaa!” Shikabone held their hands out to Sullivan, making shushing gestures. “Please, please, calm down…!”

Sullivan gritted his teeth and choked back a sob. Shikabone looked at Olivia and made a soft “ohh” sound. They reached out to him once more and said, “Let me see her.”

Sullivan handed her over to Shikabone. The death god cradled the girl in their lap, enfolding her protectively in their robes and touching a hand to her face. Sullivan watched, finally getting control over his breathing. Shikabone turned their head back to him.

“She can be saved,” was all they said. Sullivan went still. There was still hope.

“How?” was all he could breathe out.

“I can still bring her back,” Shikabone said. “Her human blood is weak, but…she can still live as a demon.”

“Good,” Sullivan said.

Shikabone scooted back and laid Olivia on the ground, removing the coat from her and pushing her limbs into a fetal position. They held out their hands and a scythe tied off with a bow materialized in their hands. Sullivan held his breath as they tapped the handle end against the ground, and a strong wind blew outward from the center of the tiles. A faint light shone from above, and Sullivan looked up to see that the clouds had parted to reveal the moon.

Familiar insignias formed on the ground beneath them, on Olivia’s skin and Sullivan’s as well, when he saw his hands. These patterns seemed ever-present wherever he and his family went. He had always assumed that the shapes in them were crows, but right now, they would be acting as the phoenix.

“Um…” Shikabone began, and Sullivan looked over at them. “If she truly wanted to die, then when she wakes up…”

They didn’t need to finish the sentence: Sullivan knew already, and he shook his head. “I deserve it. I failed as a father.”

Perhaps he’d get a second chance. He wouldn’t be at work all the time. He’d be there for her. He’d be someone for her to depend on, and talk to when something was wrong. Things would be better this time.

The moonlight grew stronger and brighter, engulfing everything in a sea of white. 

\--

She awoke beneath a tree.

It was dark everywhere she looked, but her eyes quickly adjusted and she could see all around her. She was in a forest, perhaps at the edge; the trees were thinly spaced out. She sat up and yawned, feeling well-rested and alert. Upon standing up, she noticed that she wasn’t wearing shoes, and her sleeves were bloody. She pulled back the sleeve of her right wrist but found no wounds, only a scar.

“Where am I?” she wondered aloud.

She yawned again, and coughed this time: her throat was dry. Perhaps there was a creek or somewhere she could get a drink from, so she started to walk.

She wandered for a long time through the forest and then onto a cold stone path, which stung her feet when she stepped onto it. Her stockings were thin and not suited for this kind of weather, but it was better than walking through dirt. 

She followed the path until she reached a town, bustling with demons and witches. No one gave her as much as a second glance as she pushed her way through the suffocating crowds. She didn’t know where she was going; just that she regretted even coming here. She let out a low growl of frustration and settled for hugging the sides of the roads, where the least people were congregated.

As she passed by the buildings, she noticed someone in one of the windows and stopped. It was a girl with long, grey hair, and mismatched horns. One was dark grey and angular, while the other more closely resembled a huge, black antler. The girl’s eyes, yellow with black sclera, blinked in time to hers. Her appearance was so strange, she wondered who she was.

It took a minute to realize this was just her reflection, and she turned away with a sigh while thinking, “So that’s what I look like.”

Just as she was about to be on her way, someone went and bumped into her. She stumbled back, glaring at the helmeted girl in front of her.

“Watch where you’re going,” she said with a glare.

“Ahhh, sorry sorry,” the other apologized, dancing around her.

“Met, c’mon!” a girl in striped clothes called from a doorway a few buildings down.

“On my way!” The helmeted girl ran off, but not before turning back and saying, “Nice dress, by the way!”

She frowned and looked down at her outfit. Aside from the blood, there wasn’t anything wrong with it, nothing to be pointed out. She shook her head and continued down the sidewalk. Along the way, she saw many interesting places and people: a man with his face covered, sweeping the steps outside a tavern; some big looming shape in the distance that looked a bit like a castle; a witch followed by three, four…no, five familiars. If she knew anyone here, they probably weren’t around.

By the time she had reached the other side of town, she had grown tired. However, there was still another path and another forest ahead of her. There was nowhere else for her to go but in, she supposed.

The sounds of the town died down, and so did her resolve as she finally stopped on the side of the path and sat down to rest. She cupped her hands over her mouth and breathed into them, then rested her chin on her knees.

There was nothing to do to pass the time while she waited. There wasn’t even anything for her to think about, as nothing too incredible had happened since she woke up. She reached up and gripped her horns. The angular one was on the left, and the antler—the only word she could use to describe it, honestly—was on the right.

She tightened her grip and gave them a sharp tug, but they wouldn’t come off. It looked like she was stuck with them. She gave up and let her arms flop to her sides.

“…li…”

Her ears perked up at the sound of a distant voice.

“…Olivia?...Where are you?...”

Her legs still hurt, but she got up and followed the voice down the path, drawn to it out of curiosity as to what someone would be doing out here.

She rounded a corner in the path and saw a sickly-looking man standing a little ways away, pacing around and calling out the same words she had been hearing for the past few minutes. Two angular horns, identical to her left one, protruded from his light hair. When she drew near, he turned around and their eyes met. Even those were the same as hers.

The man’s frantic expression melted away and was replaced by an elated smile.

“Oh, thank god,” he breathed. She blinked in confusion as he took her into his arms and held her close, smoothing the hair between her horns and tilting her face up to press a kiss to her forehead.

“Olivia, thank god you’re okay, I’m so sorry, I had no idea—“

She felt a wave of revulsion upon hearing the name ‘Olivia’, combined with the shock of this sudden display of affection from someone unfamiliar. She pushed the man back and backed away herself, curling her lip in disgust. The man held up his hands, looking startled.

“Do I know you?” she hissed at him.

“Wh-what are you talking about? Of course you’d know your own papa,” he said.

Her frown grew deeper still. “I’ve never seen you before in my life.”

A long silence passed. The man watched her with sad, confused eyes, which only served to irritate her further. At last, he spoke.

“Olivia, I’m your father, Sullivan,” he explained. “You don’t know who I am?”

“No. Don’t call me Olivia,” she said. Whatever her name was, it wasn’t that.

“Well, what else are you going to call yourself?” he asked with a sigh. When she didn’t answer, he pressed on. “Do you remember anything else?”

She shook her head. What was there to remember? Whatever she was forgetting, he seemed to know. Just looking at Sullivan made her prickle with frustration and annoyance, but he was the first person she had ever met who recognized her. Not to mention they looked a lot alike.

“So, you’re…Papa?” she ventured, unsure of what to call him.

“Yes,” he said with a small smile.

She looked down at her feet. She really needed to get some shoes. At that moment, Sullivan held his hand out to her.

“Let’s go home.”

“…Okay.”

\--

It was a full moon, something she had been looking forward to all month. She wasn’t sure why, but looking at the glowing orb in the sky made her feel full of life and she reveled in it. There was a hill near her house that had a good view, too.

It was too bad there was already someone up there.

The demon with corkscrew horns, wearing a hoodie and red scarf was standing nearby, looking up at the night sky. Maybe if she just…oh, no, she noticed her.

“What, is this your spot or something?” the demon asked with a grin.

She shook her head. “I’ve never been here before.”

The demon returned her gaze to the sky, and she followed suit. Minutes ticked by, and she became aware of how cold it was. Her teeth chattered, and she sneezed.  
“Gesundheit,” the demon chuckled, though her grin faded a bit when she watched her continue to shiver. “Here.”

The demon approached her and suddenly there was a warm red scarf wound comfortably around her neck.

“Ah, geez, now I’m the one who’s cold,” the demon complained, rubbing her hands on her arms. “That really does look better on you, though. What’s your name?”

She closed her eyes and thought about it. After a few minutes, she opened her eyes. She finally had her answer.

“…Kurotsuno.”


End file.
